Her brothers liked brawling; so did Vivian, who herself started fights with the toughest neighborhood kids. Vivian's first marriage ended quickly, and the two children, Maya (3) and her brother, Bailey (5), went to live with their grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas. Nine years later, they returned to their mother.

Bailey, now 14, was thrilled to go, but Maya hated the idea of living with Vivian, a virtual stranger to her; she would not call her "Mother," knowing she sent her children away to live with relatives.

After that rocky beginning, the two grew close. Vivian supported Angelou through an unwed pregnancy and single motherhood, encouraged her to pursue her dreams to become a dancer, singer and actress, as well as a writer and a teacher, and even physically rescued her from a dramatic — and almost deadly — kidnapping and assault.

An incident occurred in Sweden during the 1970s which clarified in Angelou's mind what her mother meant to her. Angelou's screenplay was being filmed in Stockholm.

Everything seemed to be working against her and the production started to unravel. She reached out to her mother and asked her to come.

Little by little, Vivian won over members of the cast and crew.

"My mother was irresistible (when she wanted to be) and everyone fell in love with her when she wanted them to." Soon, people on the movie set began to treat Angelou differently, smiling at her, and even complimenting her screenwriting.

"What had happened?" she wondered.

"I came to the realization that it was because I had a mother. My mother spoke highly of me, and to me. But more important, whether they met her or simply heard about her, she was there with me. She had my back, supported me. I really saw clearly, and for the first time, why a mother is really important. Not just because she feeds and loves and cuddles and even mollycoddles a child, but because in an interesting and maybe an eerie and unworldly way, she stands in the gap. My mother shed her protective love down around me and without knowing why, people sensed that I had value."

This is the last in Angelou's autobiographical series, published in 2013, the year before she died. It's available at Carlsbad Public Library.